A New Shakespeare Play?

Looks like I’m going to have to revise my blog header… again. According to the BBC, Arden is including a new play, “Double Falsehood” (ironic name!) in the collected works.

The play was first presented as a Shakespeare adaptation in the 17th Century but was later dismissed. Now, it seems, scholars have concluded more or less that a good portion of the work is in the Master’s hand — and that he likely collaborated on the rest with John Fletcher (of Two Noble Kinsmen fame, among others).

I’m most curious that the play may be a revision of an earlier, lost work called Cardenio. That, and it’s subject matter, which involves Cervantes, the writer of Don Quixote.

Double Falsehood was supposedly written in 1612, shortly after Don Quixote came out. We seldom think of it, but two of the greatest writers in the world were alive at the same time:

Cervantes: 1547-1616
Shakespeare: 1564-1616

That they knew of and were influenced by each other is thrilling, to say the least!